Common Bonding Network Clamp

ABSTRACT

A clamp used to create a bond between under floor wiring systems and a common bonding network is disclosed. The clamp includes a mounting bracket, a J-bolt and a split bolt for securing wires to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket has a main body with an aperture and a slot. The J-bolt has a first end and a second end. The first end of the J-bolt is attached at the aperture of the mounting bracket and the second end of the J-bolt is positioned within the slot of the mounting bracket. The second end of the J-bolt is removed from the slot to enable the second end of the J-bolt to pivot away from the mounting bracket enabling the J-bolt to engage a floor pedestal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/056,601, filed Mar. 27, 2008, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/044,005, filed Mar. 7, 2008, which claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/893,713, filedMar. 8, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a clamp, and more particularly to acommon bonding network clamp for an under floor wiring system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As data centers become more complicated, the utilization of floor spacein the data center has become more critical. As a result, common bondingnetworks have been installed under raised floors. Raised floors are acost effective and efficient solution for wire and cable management. Inthe under floor network a bond must be created between the floorpedestal and the common bonding network. The current bonding clamptypically used in under floor wiring systems includes a U-bolt with twothreaded ends. The U-bolts are typically secured to floor pedestals by aclamp and various fasteners. The installation of this current bondingclamp, however, is often difficult and time consuming because thefasteners securing the U-bolt must be individually installed to enablethe U-bolt to be installed around the floor pedestal. Additionally, toremove the clamp from the floor pedestal, the fasteners must beindividually removed from the U-bolt before the clamp may be removed.Thus, it is desirable to provide a common bonding network clamp thatcreates a bond between the floor pedestal and the common bonding networkand that is cost effective and easy to install.

SUMMARY

A clamp is disclosed to create a bond between under floor wiring systemsand a common bonding network. The clamp includes a mounting bracket, aJ-bolt, or a modified U-bolt, connected to the mounting bracket and asplit bolt for securing wires to the mounting bracket. The mountingbracket includes a main body with an aperture and a backside having aslot. The bolt includes a first end attached at the aperture of themounting bracket and a second end positioned within the slot of themounting bracket. The second end of the bolt is secured to the mountingbracket by a flange nut. The flange nut is loosened to remove the secondend of the bolt from the slot to enable the second end of the bolt topivot away from the mounting bracket. The bolt receives a floor pedestalto secure the clamp to an under floor wiring system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the common bonding network clampof the present invention secured to an access floor pedestal;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the common bonding network clamp ofFIG. 2 taken along line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a partial rear perspective view of the common bonding networkclamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a partial rear perspective view of the common bonding networkclamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 7 with the U-bolt partiallyrotated from the mounting plate;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 7 with the U-bolt rotated fromthe mounting plate;

FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thecommon bonding network clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the commonbonding network clamp for a circular floor pedestal;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the common bonding network clamp ofFIG. 14 for a rectangular floor pedestal;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the mounting bracket of the commonbonding network clamp of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 14with the J-bolt rotated away from the mounting bracket;

FIG. 18 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 14with the mounting bracket positioned around a floor pedestal;

FIG. 19 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 14;and

FIG. 20 is a top view of the common bonding network clamp of FIG. 14with the clamp secured around a floor pedestal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-9 illustrate the common bonding network clamp 20 of the presentinvention attached to an access floor pedestal 70 for an under floorwiring system. The common bonding clamp is made of copper to provide alow resistance, all copper pathway connection, however, the clamp may bemade from other materials. The common bonding network clamp 20 includesa mounting plate 30, a U-bolt 40 and a split bolt 50.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a first end 41 of the U-bolt 40includes a hinge 42 and the second end 43 of the U-bolt 40 is threaded44 for receiving a fastener 46, for example, a serrated flange nut. Themounting plate 30 includes an opening or aperture 32 for receiving thehinge 42 at the first end 41 of the U-bolt 40. The hinge 42 is crimpedon the mounting plate 30 to create a captive U-bolt 40. Thus, the U-bolt40 is pivotally connected to the mounting plate 30 (see FIGS. 7-9).Alternatively, the first end of the U-bolt may be threaded and securedto the mounting plate by a flange nut.

The mounting plate 30 includes a slot 34 (see FIG. 2) that receives thethreaded end 44 of the U-bolt 40. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, whenthe common bonding network clamp 20 is installed around a raised floorpedestal 70, the U-bolt 40 is positioned around the floor pedestal 70and the threaded end 44 of the U-bolt 40 is positioned in the slot 34 inthe mounting plate 30. A serrated flange nut 46 that has been installedon the threaded end of the U-bolt 40 is tightened to secure the U-bolt40 to the mounting plate 30. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, to removethe U-bolt 40, the flange nut 46 is moved along the threaded end untilthe U-bolt 40 is loose and can pivot away from mounting plate 30 and thefloor pedestal 70. Thus, the slot 34 in the mounting plate 30 enablesthe U-bolt 40 to be quickly installed around the access floor pedestal70 because the U-bolt 40 may be tightened around the floor pedestal 70without removing the U-bolt 40 from the mounting plate 30 or withoutremoving the serrated flange nut 46 from the U-bolt 40.

The U-bolt 40 and mounting plate 30 may be secured to access floorpedestals of various shapes and sizes, for example, a floor pedestalthat is round or square.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the mounting plate 30 also includes a lip36 and an opening or aperture 38 for receiving the split bolt 50. Thesplit bolt 50 is positioned in the opening 38 in the mounting plate 30and secured thereto via a fastener 60. The mounting plate 30 is designedto space the split bolt 50 from the U-bolt 40 and the attached floorpedestal 70 to enable the split bolt 50 to accommodate the commonbonding wires 100.

The split bolt 50 includes a cross-shaped body to enable the bolt toaccommodate two perpendicular common bonding wires 100 thereby creatingan electrical bond between the wires. The split bolt 50 includes atleast one pressure plate 52. The pressure plate 52 is cross-shaped toadd strength and reduce deflection or deformation of the split bolt 50during installation. The cross-shape of the pressure plate 52 alsoprovides grooves to accept the wires 100 to increase the contact surfacearea and provide a superior electrical bond. The size and shape of thepressure plate 52 may vary to accommodate a range of wire gauges. Thetop of the split bolt 50 includes a number of bent tabs 54 for securingthe pressure plate 52 to the split bolt 50. The split bolt 50 alsoincludes a groove 56 that is designed to accommodate different wiregauges and to increase the contact surface area between the split bolt50 and the wires 100.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom of the split bolt 50 includes a flat area58. The flat area 58 accepts a standard wrench to facilitateinstallation of the split bolt 50 to the mounting plate 30. The flatarea 58 of the split bolt 50 and the mounting plate lip 36 combine tocreate an anti-rotation feature.

A freestanding height gauge 80 is used during the installation of theclamp 20. The height gauge 80 insures that all of the clamps 20 in theunder floor wiring system are installed at the same height. The clamp 20creates an electrical bond between the floor pedestal 70 and the wires100 regardless of the height of the two crossing wires 100. Thus, thefreestanding height gauge 80 also facilitates installation of the commonbonding network clamps 20.

FIGS. 10-13 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the common bondingnetwork clamp of the present invention. In the alternative embodiment,the split bolt 50 is integrally formed with the mounting plate 30.

FIGS. 14-20 also illustrate an alternative embodiment of the commonbonding network clamp 200. As shown in FIGS. 14-16, the alternativecommon bonding network clamp 200 includes a mounting bracket 210 with apivoting J-bolt 240 or a modified U-bolt.

As described above with respect to the various embodiments of the commonbonding network clamp, the J-bolt 240, or modified U-bolt, has a firstend 241 and a second end 243. As discussed below, the first end 241includes a hook 243 that is pivotally secured to the mounting bracket210. The second end 243 is threaded and receives a common hex nut 246 ora serrated flange hex nut.

The mounting bracket 210 includes a main body 220 with a backside 222and two parallel wings 226A, 226B that extend from the main body 220.The main body 220 includes partial circular cut-out portions 232 (seeFIG. 14) or rectangular cut-out portions (see FIG. 15) to facilitateplacing the bracket 210 around a floor pedestal 270. The upper wing 226Aincludes a vertical flange 230 to ensure positive orientation of anelectrical connector 250 attached thereto. Each wing 226A, 226B includesan aperture 228A, 228B or a hole near the end. The electrical connector250, i.e. split bolt, is attached to the wings 226A, 226B at the holes228A, 228B by a fastener, such as a serrated head screw 252 and a spacersleeve 254. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the first end 241 of the J-bolt240 is hooked around the fastener 252 and is positioned between thespacer sleeve 254 and the wings 226A, 226B. As a result, the first endof the J-bolt is pivotally secured to the mounting bracket enabling thesecond end to pivot away from the mounting bracket to install the clamparound the floor pedestal.

The backside 222 of the mounting bracket 210 includes a slot 224 forreceiving the second end 243 of the bolt 240.

FIGS. 17-20 illustrate the installation of the clamp 200 around a floorpedestal 270. The mounting bracket 210 is placed around the floorpedestal 270 and the J-bolt 240 is pivoted towards the mounting bracket210. The second end 243 of the J-bolt 240 is positioned in the slot 224.Once the J-bolt 240 is fully inserted in the slot 224, the hex nut 246is tightened to secure the mounting bracket 210 to the floor pedestal270. If desired, a washer 248 may also be used with the common hex nut246. If a serrated flange hex nut is used, a washer is not required. Asdescribed above, to remove the clamp 200 from the floor pedestal 270,the nut 246 is moved along the J-bolt 240 a certain distance to enablethe J-bolt 240 to pivot away from the backside 222 of the mountingbracket 210. Once the second end 243 of the J-bolt 240 pivots from thebackside 222 of the mounting bracket 210 and the floor pedestal 270, theclamp 200 may be moved away from the floor pedestal 270.

Furthermore, while the particular preferred embodiments of the presentinvention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the teaching of the invention. The matter set forth inthe foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way ofillustration only and not as limitation.

1. A clamp comprising: a mounting bracket having a main body with afirst end and a second end; and a bolt pivotally connected to themounting bracket, wherein the bolt has a first end and a second end, thefirst end of the bolt is pivotally attached at the first end of themounting bracket and the second end of the bolt is positioned at thesecond end of the mounting bracket; and a split bolt connected to themounting bracket for securing wires to the mounting bracket, wherein thesplit bolt is disposed in a plane; wherein the bolt pivots in a planeperpendicular to the plane of the split bolt.
 2. The clamp of claim 1,further comprising a fastener for securing the split bolt to themounting bracket, wherein the first end of the bolt is pivotallyattached to the fastener.
 3. The clamp of claim 1, wherein the first endof the bolt includes a hook and the second end of the bolt is threaded.4. The clamp of claim 1, wherein the main body includes a back side witha slot and two parallel wings.
 5. The clamp of claim 1, wherein the mainbody of the mounting bracket receives a floor pedestal to secure theclamp to an under floor wiring system.